Chapter 924 - 926: Siblings of the Tu Family Being Hunted Down_1
"Are you afraid now?" Bai Ruozhu looked at the worker’s horrified eyes, sneered, and said, "I’ll give you a way out. Go to the Government Office tomorrow morning and confess leniently. As long as you honestly confess, Lord Lu will understand that your family was coerced and will deal with you lightly."
"No! I can’t betray the Prince of Duan; he will make my life worse than death!" The man cried out in terror.
Bai Ruozhu took out a small bottle and shook it in front of the worker, saying, "You can also choose not to confess, and I can still make your life a living hell. It’s just because my heart is kinder and not as evil as the Prince of Duan’s that you choose to harm my interests and then think that begging me for mercy will suffice?"
She opened the bottle cap, poured the poison onto the back of the man’s hand, and said coldly, "It’s not only you who can use poison. You can continue to be defiant and experience what it’s like to wish for death."
After Bai Ruozhu finished speaking, she walked out. Some workers were awakened by the noise, roughly understood what was happening, and seeing Bai Ruozhu, they said, "Master, you can’t indulge this kind of person. He intended to kill us all, and to think we treated him like a friend."
"I will deal with him strictly. All of you go back and rest," Bai Ruozhu said.
Upon hearing this, the workers all returned to their rooms. They lived in the workshop and visited their families once every half-month.
Soon, screams of agony from the poisoned man resounded inside the room. He couldn’t hold on for a few minutes before he begged, "Master, I am willing to confess. Please let me go."
Jianqi had been watching the man in the room and saw there was only an extremely small wound on the back of his hand, looking no more than a mosquito bite, yet he was trembling in pain all over. If he hadn’t been hit at the acupuncture points, he might have been rolling on the ground in agony.
Bai Ruozhu, hearing his cries, went in to administer the antidote, saying, "It’s good that you’ve come to your senses. Even if you covered for the Prince of Duan, he wouldn’t remember your kindness."
"Have someone watch him, so he’s not silenced. Send him to Lord Lu first thing in the morning." After Bai Ruozhu finished speaking, she yawned, feeling exhausted from the busy last three days.
She returned to the yard, cradled her chubby son, and fell asleep until she was woken up by the bright morning light and Dengdeng’s calls.
She held Dengdeng and went to wash up, while Jianqi stood beside her with a cold face, saying, "Master, I have been negligent. Gao Zhuzi suddenly became dazed."
Gao Zhuzi was the worker who had poisoned them. Bai Ruozhu took a deep breath to suppress the anger in her heart and asked, "No one approached him afterward?"
Jianqi shook his head, "It was the trusted dark guards watching over him, no one approached, and I personally checked, no poison was used."
"Soul Capture Technique..." Bai Ruozhu bit her teeth and said.
The Prince of Duan’s backup plan was indeed more careful and cautious this time. He had someone administer the Soul Capture Technique on Gao Zhuzi beforehand. That meant regardless of whether Gao Zhuzi would confess or not, as long as he poisoned them within the specified time, he would become an imbecile by the Soul Capture Technique before dawn.
It seemed that the assassins who pursued Tu Bai in Jiangnan were indeed the Prince of Duan’s men.
Thinking of this, Bai Ruozhu remembered that since she had returned these few days, she hadn’t heard any news from Tu Ying and Tu Bai. Could something have happened to them?
As if on cue, shortly after breakfast, Tu Ying and Tu Bai paid a sudden visit, bringing a carriage full of thank-you gifts, saying they were from Lady Tu, who insisted on showing her gratitude to Bai Ruozhu for saving Tu Bai’s life.
Bai Ruozhu didn’t decline their offer, thinking she would return the favor later.
"I originally wanted to come yesterday, but my mother insisted that I needed to rest because of my serious injury and she wanted to check my wound," Tu Bai gave Bai Ruozhu a meaningful look, "Of course, I didn’t let her see it. As a result, she suspected my injury was too severe and adamantly refused to let me leave the house."
Tu Bai’s wounds had already healed on the road, but the stitches left scars, with visible needle marks near the wound. Bai Ruozhu gave Tu Bai some ointment to apply, saying that they had to wait until the scar didn’t look like it was sutured before showing it to anyone else.
Because of this, Tu Bai even grumbled about the Emperor, wondering why such a good suturing technique needed to be kept secret; otherwise, he wouldn’t have had to go through such trouble.
Tu Ying held Bai Ruozhu’s hand and asked about the previous day’s events, as the Tu Family naturally had also received the news of the storm brewing in Meng City. Bai Ruozhu briefly described the Prince’s entrapment, and also told about Gao Zhuzi’s poisoning and subsequent foolishness.
"It’s definitely the Prince’s doing. Does he not bother to hide his actions anymore? If my brother and I make it back alive, we won’t let our parents side with the wrong team," Tu Ying said angrily.
"Right now, don’t think about anything else. Ensuring your own safety is the top priority. Make sure you don’t become a pawn that the Prince can use to blackmail your father." Bai Ruozhu specially glanced at Tu Bai as she spoke. Tu Lie only had one son, Tu Bai, and if the Prince used Tu Bai to blackmail him, Tu Lie might indeed give in, especially since Tu Lie was somewhat impulsive and had not fully recovered from his internal injuries; he was very susceptible to the Prince’s manipulation.
"That’s why my mother wouldn’t agree to his departure. He sneaked out today," said Tu Ying, casting a reproachful glance at her brother.
Bai Ruozhu was worried upon hearing this and quickly called over Jianqi and the others, saying they would escort the Tu siblings back home later to prevent any complications.
After visiting Bai Yihong and Lin Ping’er, greeting them and having lunch, Tu Ying and Tu Bai took their leave.
After they left, Bai Ruozhu’s heart pounded with worry, fearing another mishap. As soon as Jianqi returned, she rushed over to ask, "Did they make it home safely?"
Jianqi nodded, "Master’s foresight is like that of a deity. Just as expected, there was trouble on the road; the axle of the Tu Family’s horse carriage suddenly broke. Sensing murderous intent, I immediately took Tu Bai onto the horse and rapidly galloped away. Tu Ying was taken away by Muyu; by blocking the attackers for a moment, we were able to safely escort them back to the Tu Family."
Jianqi wasn’t one for many words, yet such a dangerous event was relayed so simply, but Bai Ruozhu could still sense the peril involved.
"As long as they’re safe, that’s all that matters," Bai Ruozhu sighed in relief and handed Jianqi several silver banknotes, "Everyone has done well today, take this silver and divide it amongst yourselves."
"Thank you for the reward, Master," Jianqi said before withdrawing.
He himself didn’t care about such worldly possessions, but the other dark guards did, and with the master clear about rewards and punishments and generous in nature, he gained the admiration of the others.
As Gao Zhuzi had suddenly become foolish and was unable to testify, his family had raised a racket at the workshop, only to be sternly dealt with by Yang Xingyun. Bai Ruozhu wondered why Gao Zhuzi’s family hadn’t been affected. Would the Prince be so kind as to let them go? Or was it just Gao Zhuzi trying to garner sympathy?
She had someone from Cui Fan’s side investigate, and surely, the neighbors all said they saw Gao Zhuzi’s family going in and out as usual without any issues. Bai Ruozhu once again learned that when people become selfish, they can use anything as an excuse, even the lives of their family members.
Still, Bai Ruozhu had someone keep an eye on Gao Zhuzi’s situation, to see if the foolish Gao Zhuzi would stay that way forever. After all, she couldn’t heal someone made stupid by the Soul Capture Technique, but that didn’t mean others couldn’t.
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I’ve updated a bit earlier today, so may I humbly ask for some monthly votes? I dropped several places in the rankings, 5555